Gas fueled pyrophoric pocket lighter



May 11, 1954 c. s. GEHRIE 2,677,948

GAS FUELED PYROPHORIC POCKET LIGHTER Filed June 13, 1951 2 SheetsSheet lPatented May 11, 1954 @FFIQE GAS FUEL-ED PYROPHORIO POCKET LIGHTERCharles S.'Gehrie, Mendham, N. J. ApplicationJune; 13, 1951, Serial No.231,392

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in pyrophcric pocket lighters ofthe-type which is supplied with a compressed liquifled-gas .as itscombustible fuel; said fuel being contained in a supply tank adapted tobe detachably mounted within the casing of the lighter subject toreplacement by a full tank when'its charge of gaseous fuel is exhausted.

It is an object of this invention to provide the fuel supply tank .witha burner valve which is normally closed by down-thrusting spring means,together with a spring retracted pushbutton actuated means mountedwithin the lighter casing, said latter means operating through a rackand pinion transmission mechanism to actuate the striker wheel ofa'pyrophoric flint type ignition means, and at the same time lift andopen the burner valve of the fuel supply tank through a cooperative camand pivoted bell-crank mechanism, whereby to'permit outflow of gaseousfuel from the tank subject to ignition by said ignition means.

The invention has foranother object to provide the fuel supply tankwitha regulatableburner valve and means to adiustab-ly mount the. samein sealed connection with the tank, whereby the movable element of saidburner valve can be adjustably positioned for proper cooperationwith themeans for lifting said movable element to open the burner valve when thesupply ,tank is operatively disposed within the lighter casing.

The invention has for a further object to provide a lighter,characterized as above stated, having a casing formed by two sectionshinged together to close one upon the other, and said sections being soshaped as to provide, at the top of the casing, a ventilated chamberwithin which the burner valve of the fuel supply tank is disposed, sothat the burner end ofthe burner valve is shielded from wind, whereby aflame issuing therefrom is substantially protected against extinction bywind.

The invention has for a still further object to provide a lightercasing, as above characterized, comprising a base section anda coversection, with inlay means fixed within the base section for positioningandsupporting thepush-button actuatable ignition and burner valve,operating means within the base section,and for detachably holding thefuel supply tank in the place therein.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularlynumeratedwillbe understood from thefollowing detailed description of theinvention.

1 lating openings -bustion chamber is An illustrative embodiment of theinvention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the lighter with the cover section of itscasing open to disclose the lighter mechanism supported within the basesection of said casing, the cover section of the casing being partiallybroken away.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to that of Fig. 1, with parts shownin section, and with the ignition and burner valve actuating means shownin normal initial position, the burner valve being closed; and Fig. 3 isa view simlar to that of Fig. 2, but showing the operation of theignition and burner valve actuating means, the burner valve being open.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-section, taken on line 4-4 in Fig. 1; andFig. 5 is a horizontal cross-section, taken on line Ei-5 in Fig. l; thecasing being closed in both said views.

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the burner valvemeans with which the fuel supply tank is provided, the valve beingclosed; and Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the valve open.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above describedviews, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, the lighter comprises a casing formed by abase section it and a cover section II. Said sections it and l i arehinged together to close one upon the other, subject to relative openingmovement whereby to expose the interior of the base section it. Saidsections are preferably hinged together at their bottom ends by thehinge means 52. The casing sections are elongated at corresponding sidesthereof to provide the casing with an extension is projecting from itstop end. The interior of said extension forms a combustion chamber iswhich communicates with an opening it; provided in the top end wallsthereof, and beneath which opening the burner valve of the fuel supplytank is aligned when said tank is operatively positioned within thecasing. The face walls of the casing sections, contiguous to thecombustion chamber M, are provided with a plurality of spaced ventiorslots 55. The ventilated comserves to substantially wind proofa flamewhen ignited at the gas discharge end of the burner valve of the fuelsupply which flame, however, is adapted to extend through the opening E5of the casing.

Arranged within the upper end portion of the base section it of thecasing, contiguous to the inner surface of the face wall thereof, is

a suitably shaped inlay or frame plate ll. Said inlay or frame plate isprovided with suitably disposed, right angularly projecting, tongues itwhich extend outwardly beyond the free edges of the contiguous lateralbounding walls of the base section (0, thus providing ledges over whichthe cover section I I of the casing telescopes when said cover sectionis closed upon the base section 10, so that said cover section is heldin register with the latter. The inlay or frame plate I! is suitablysecured in place within the base section 23, preferably by fasteningscrews l9 which pass through said bounding walls of the base section Itto screw into selected tongues [8 of the inlay or frame plate.

Extending perpendicularly upward from the bottom end of the casingthrough the interior thereof, so as to be disposed adjacent to that sideof the casing from which the extension l3 thereof extends, is apyrophoric flint guide tube 28. The upper portion of said flint guidetube is supported by a horizontal carrier tongue 2! which projects froma dependent extension 22 of the inlay or frame plate ll. To the lowerportion of the flint guide tube is affixed a horizontal spacer plate 23which extends between the face walls of the respective base and coversections of the casing, thus holding the lower end portion of the guidetube against displacement.

A hearing bracket is affixed by its base 24 to the inlay or frame platell, and is provided with an offsetting arm 25 from which extends anupstanding bearing member 26, the latter being thus outwardly spacedfrom and parallel to the inlay or frame plate l1. Supported between theinlay or frame plate and said bearing member 26 is a transverse shaft21. The upper extremity of the flint guide tube 25 extends through theoffsetting arm 25 of the bearing bracket, so as to be suitably spacedbelow said shaft 21. Rotatably mounted on said shaft 21, in oppositionto the upper extremity of the flint guide tube 20, is a flint strikerwheel 23 which is provided with a suitably roughened periphery adaptedto abrade and spark a flint against which it is moved. The striker wheelis held in alignment with the flint guide tube 20 by a spacer roller 29,or equivalent spacing means, which is mounted on the shaft 21 betweenthe striker wheel 28 and the bearing member 26 of said bearing bracket.Inserted in s the fiint guide tube 2!}, to project from the upperextremity thereof so as to be contacted by the striker wheel 28, is apyrophoric flint 3D. Said flint 30 is backed by a spring 3 I, so as tobe thrust thereby against the striker wheel. The bottom end of the flintguide tube 20 is closed by a removable screw-threaded plug 32, said plugserving to purchase the spring 3| for thrust.

The space within the lower portion of the lighter casing, which extendsbetween the flint guide tube 20 and the right hand side wall of saidcasing, provides a receiving compartment within which the fuel supplytank 33 for the lighter is removably mounted. To hold the entered fuelsupply tank against upward shift or displacement, the inlay or frameplate ll is provided with an outwardly projecting keeper tongue 34,beneath which the upper end of said tank is engaged.

The fuel supply tank 33 is adapted to be charged with a compressed orliquifled gas, such for example as butane, which is suitably stored inthe tank under such conditions that, under control of a burner valvestructure, it can be expanded and emitted under limited or reducedpressure subject to ignition and combustion whereby to produce a desiredlighter flame.

Provided in connection with the upper end of the fuel supply tank 33, toproject outwardly therefrom, is a burner valve structure. This burnervalve structure comprises an outwardly open, stationary housing 35 whichis affixed to and dependent from the top wall of the tank 33 within theinterior of said tank. The bottom end of said housing is provided withan opening 36 which communicates with the interior of the tank. Theupper end portion of the housing 35 is interiorly screw-threaded and thelower end portion thereof is formed to provide a smooth surfaced bore31. Threaded into the outer end portion of the housing is a valve casing38, which terminates in a smooth surfaced lower end portion 39 totelescope into the bore 31 of the housing 35. Said lower end portion 39of the valve casing is provided with an external annular channel orgroove 40 in which is seated a resilient 0 seal ring 4| adapted tosealingly contact the surface of the bore 31 of housing 35, thuspreventing gas leakage from the tank interior through the joint betweenthe valve casing 38 and the housing 35. The valve casing 38 is providedin its upper end portion with an outwardly open, internallyscrew-threaded shut-off valve chamber 42, seated upon the bottom ofwhich is a fixed valve disc 43 having a central gas outlet port 44.Provided in the lower end portion of the valve casing 38, below thevalve disc 43, is an axially disposed, internally screw-threadedregulating valve chamber 45 of reduced diameter, and provided in itsbottom with a regulating valve port 43 which communicates with theinterior of the tank 33 through the bottom opening 35 of the housing 35.Threaded into the regulating valve chamber 45 is a regulating valvemember 41 having gas passages 48 in communication with and between theinterior of the regulating valve chambe;- 45 and the gas outlet port 44.The regulating valve member 41 is provided at its lower end with aconical or needle valve member 49 which cooperates with the regulatingvalve port 46. It will be obvious that by shifting the regulating valvemember up or down in the regulating valve chamber 45, the conical orneedle valve member 49 can be adjusted relative to the regulating valveport 46, whereby to regulate the volume of gas emitted from the tankinterior through the gas outlet port 44. Threaded into the shut-offvalve chamber 42 of the valve casing 33 is a shut-off valve bushing 50,the lower end of which engages and holds the outlet valve disc 43 inplace. Slidably supported within the bore of said bushing 56 is avertically movable shut-off valve 5|, the same having an upwardlyextending stem 52 of reduced diameter. Said stem 52 extends slidablythrough an opening 53 in the outer end or head of the bushing 50, so asto project exteriorly upward therefrom. Mounted within the upperinterior of the bushing 50, around the shut-off valve stem 52, is asealing gasket 54 supported by a washer 55. The shut-off valve 5! isprovided with gas passages 56 leading from the interior of bushing to agas discharge passage 51 which extends axially outward through theshut-off valve stem 52. Mounted on the under side of the shut-off valve5| is a resilient valve piece 53 of reduced diameter, which normallyengages the valve disc 43 so as to close the gas outlet port 44. Acompression spring 59 is mounted within the bushing 50 around theshut-off valve stem 52, said spring being operative to thrust downwardlyupon. the shut-off valve '5l, whereby to normally move and yieldablyhold the latter closing relation to the gas outlet port (seeFig. 6). Theouter open endportion of the shut-off valve stem "forms a burner :tip60,to which is secured a diametrically enlarged tip head'6l.

The burner valve structure is-so mounted in connection with thetank33 asto be disposed adjacent to that side of thei latter which abuts theflint guide tube' 20, whereby, when the tank is deposited within thelighter casing, the burner tip portion of the burner valve will bepositioned somewhat below and adjacentto the flint striker wheel 28, andin the path of sparks cast off from the flint 36 by operation ofsaid-striker wheel.

The means'for actuating the flint striker wheel 28 andsimultaneously-opening the burner valve for emission of gaseous fuelfrom the tank 33 is operable by a push-button member 62, which normallyprojects outwardly through that lighter casing side wall adjacentto--which the flint guide tube 20 is disposed. Extending inwardly fromone side of the push-button member 62, preferably as an integral partthereof, is a guide arm 63, which is slidably supported-upon theoffsetting arm 25 of the bearing bracket which carries the bearingmember 26. Similarly, extending inwardly from the opposite side of thepushbutton member 62, preferably also as an integral part thereof, is acombined rack andcam bar 64, which is also slidably supported upon theoffsetting arm 25 of the bearing bracket which carries the bearingmember 26. Said guide arm 63 and rack and cam bar 64 are respectivelyprovided, adjacent the-junctures thereof with the push-button member,with stop shoulders 65 which by abutment upon the lighter casing sidewall through which'the' push-buton-member projects, determines the.normal retracted positions of saidpush button member'and saidrack andcam bar. A compression spring 66 is interposed between the offsettingarm 25 of the bearing bracket which carries ,the .bearing member 26 andthe push-button member '62, whereby to yieldably hold the latter and therack and cam bar in normal initial retracted positions. Formed on theupper edge of the rearward portion of the rack and cam bar 64 arerackteeth=61. These rack teeth mesh with the'teeth of a flintstriker wheelactuating gear wheel 68 which is rotatably mounted on the shaft 21.Theface of the flint striker wheel which is opposed to'saidgear wheel 63is provided with ratchet teeth169. Mounted in connection with the gearwheel 68, to rotate therewith, is a yieldable ratchet pawl 16 adapted toengage the ratchet teeth 69 of the striker wheel 28, whereby to transmitthe motion of said gear wheel to the striker wheel in one direction. Atits forward or free portion, the under edge of the rack and cam bar 64is formed to provide a cam section H. Pivotally mounted on the inlay orframe plate [1, beneath the rack and cam bar and adjacent to the burnertip of the tank burner valve structure, is a bell-crank lever 72. Theinterior operating arm 13 of the bell-crank lever is engageable by thecam section 1| of the rack and cam bar 64, when the latter is forwardlyor inwardly moved. The outer arm 74 of the bellcrank lever is formed toproject at a right angle to the plane of said bell-crank lever. Theouter extremity of said arm 14 is disposed to engage beneath the tiphead 6| of the tank burner valve structure. The inlay or frame plate I!is provided with a suitably disposed guide lug 15 to embrace the rackand cam bar 64, and also with a backing lug 16 to engagethe upper edgeof the latter soas tohold the same against displaceby topredetermine'theextent or height of projection of the burner'tip'portion so as to position the tip head=6l at the proper point orelevation'for engagement by. the bell-crank lever 72, operation of whichlifts the-shut-off valve 5! to open condition so as to permit emissionof the gaseous fuel from the tank to the burner tip. Such adjustmentcan'be accomplished by screwing the valve-casing 38 inward or outward,as may be required, relative to'the housing 35. Such adjusting movementof the valve casing 38 does not disturb the sealed relation of saidvalve casing relative to the housing '35, since the 0 seal ring 4ireadily moves over the smooth surfaced bore 37 of the housing 35 withoutbreaking the seal. Once the proper adjustmentof the valve casing for theabove stated purposes has been made, said valve casing can be immovablyfixed against accidental shifting out of its adjusted position bylocking the same to the housing 35. By way of illustration, such lockingcan be effected by application of a spot of solder ill to and betweenadjacent external surfaces of the housing and valve casing (see Figs. 6and 7).

In the use of the lighter, to ignite the same, the user pressesinwardly-upon the push-button member 62, thus sliding forward the rackand cam bar 64. As the rack and cam'bar moves forward, its rack teeth 61rotate the gear wheel 68 in counterclockwise direction. The rotarymovement of gear wheel 68 is transmitted to the striker wheel 28 byoperation of the ratchet pawl 16 upon the'ratchet teeth 69 of thelatter, thus rotating the striker wheel in counterclockwise direction sothat its abrading surface moves across the pyrophoric flint 30, wherebysparks are struck and cast on therefrom into the combustion chamber [4above the burner tip 69 of the tank burner valve structure.Simultaneously, the forward movement of the rack and cam bar 64 movesits cam section H against the operating arm 13 of the bell-crank lever12, thereby rotating said bell-crank-lever in clockwise direction so asto upswing its outer arm 74- against the tip'head 6| of the tank burnervalve structure, and thus to lift the shut-off valve 5! against thetension of its closing spring 59, whereby to Withdraw the valve piece 58from the gas outlet port 44. The gaseous fuel thereupon flows outwardlythrough the passages 56 and through the gas discharge passage 51 of theshut-off valve stem 52 for emission from the burner tip 6!. The emittedgas will be ignited by the sparks cast from the flint 30, and a lighterflame will be produced within the combustion chamber Hi from which itemerges through the opening 55 in the lighter casing top wall (see Fig.3). The lighter flame thus produced will continue to burn so long as thepush-button member is held inpressed to hold the rack and cam bar 64 inbellcrank lever burner valve opening position.

When the push-button member 6'2 is released, the spring 66 will returnthe same to normal initial position, outwardly projected from thelighter casing, thus retracting the rack and cam bar 64 to like normalinitial position, so as to release the bell-crank lever 12 and therebypermit the spring 59 of the burner valve structure to return theshut-off valve 51 to down-thrust closed relation to the gas outlet port44.

By reason of the pawl and ratchet transmission effective between thegear wheel 68 and flint striker wheel 28, the latter will not bereversely rotated against the flint 30, but will remain stationaryduring return of the rack and cam bar 64 to normal initial position.

From the above it will be understood that a very simple and highlyefficient means is provided for operating the lighter by a one-handmanipulation, whereby to both strike the pyrophoric flint 30 andsimultaneously open the burner valve of the fuel supply tank.

Having now described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A pyrophoric lighter comprising a casing divided in a planeintermediate its face walls to form a base section and a cover sectionhinged together to close one upon the other, a gaseous fuel tankremovably mounted in said base section and havii'ig a fuel dischargevalve, a flint holding means and cooperative rlint striker wheel havingan actuating gear supported within said base section at one side of thetank fuel discharge valve, a lever member pivotally mounted within saidbase section adjacent to the opposite side of the tank fuel dischargevalve and cooperative with the latter to open the same, a horizontallyslidable spring backed push-button mounted in said base section tonormally project exteriorly from an edge thereof adjacent to the flintholding means and a flint striker wheel and its actuating gear, and asingle horizontal one-piece rack and cam bar unitary with saidpush-button and adapted to be moved thereby transverse to the axis ofsaid flint striker wheel and above said lever member, said rack and cambar having rack teeth at one end to engage and operate the striker wheelactuating gear and a cam section at its free end to engage and operatesaid lever member.

2. A pyrophoric lighter comprising a casing divided in a planeintermediate its face walls to form a base section and a cover sectionhinged together to close one upon the other, an inlay frame structureaffixed to and within the upper end portion of the casing base section,a striker wheel rotatably supported by the frame structure adjacent toone side of the casing base section, means for rotating the strikerwheel including a gear having a ratchet and pawl drive means connectedtherewith, means supported within the casing base section to oppose asparking flint to said striker wheel, a gaseous fuel supply tankremovably supported within the casing base section beneath said framestructure intermediate said sparking flint supporting means and theopposite side of the casing base section, fuel gas discharge means atthe top end of said tank and provided with an externally projectingvertically reciprocable burner valve disposed adjacent to the strikerwheel, said burner valve having a diametrically enlarged annular tip, aspring backed push button slidably supported by said frame structure tonormally project outwardly from the striker wheel containing side of thecasing base section, a single rack bar extending from said push-buttonfor longitudinal reciprocation thereby in mesh with the striker wheelgear, means carried by the frame structure to guide longitudinalreciprocable movement of said rack bar, a burner valve lifting levermember pivotally mounted on the frame structure beneath the rack bar,one arm of said lever member being adapted to engage beneath the annulartip of the burner valve, and the free end of said rack bar having a camformation cooperative with the other arm of said lever member uponpush-button induced inward movement of the rack bar operative to rotatethe striker wheel, whereby to simultaneously rotate the lever member tolift the burner valve to open gas discharging position.

3. A pyrophoric lighter as characterized in claim 2 wherein the fuelsupply tank is provided with an upwardly open internally screw-threadedhousing afiixed to the top end wall thereof to depend within said tank,the fuel gas discharge means being threaded into said housing subject tovertical adjustment relative thereto, whereby to predetermine theposition of the burner valve and its tip relative to the lifting levermember so as to assure proper cooperation of the latter therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,831,014 Leitheuser Nov. 10, 1931 1,937,080 Bilde et al Nov.28, 1933 2,410,808 Christensen Nov. 12, 1946 2,424,331 Rose July 22,1947 2,482,794 Peterson Sept. 27, 1949 2,571,435 Flamm Oct. 16, 19512,612,033 Flamm Sept. 30, 1952

